The present invention relates to building construction, and more particularly to a sill for supporting wall panels. Most particularly, the invention relates to a sill for receiving and retaining the edge of modular solarium wall panels.
The increasing popularity of solariums has lead to the development of products that permit solariums to be constructed more expediently. One such product is the prefabricated solarium wall panel, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,560,155 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,771,640. Properly locating and securing the wall panels to supporting structure is an important aspect of their installation, as is the case with virtually any building construction product. Locating and securing the wall panels in a proper horizontal and vertical position may often be cumbersome and time consuming.
In almost all forms of building construction, prevention of water migration from the exterior of the building structure to the interior of the building structure is critical. This is an important issue that must be addressed especially with regard to the lower edge of wall panels. It is obvious that water resulting from rain or condensation flows downward along the wall panel. This water has a tendency to collect along the lower edge of the wall panel if proper drainage is not provided.
Providing drainage along the lower edge of the wall panel does not always address the issue of water migration. For example, in windy conditions water collecting along the lower edge of the wall panel may be blown inwardly from the exterior of the building structure to the interior of the building structure before it has a chance to drain. Moreover, when freezing conditions prevail, water along lower edge of the wall panel may expand inwardly towards the interior of the building structure.
A need exists for less cumbersome, more expedient installation of wall panels that further reduces the risk of moisture migration between the exterior of a building structure and the interior of the building structure.